Songfacts®:

• The Last Shadow Puppets are a side project of Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) and Miles Kane (The Rascals). The two bands had known each other for several years. Turner told the NME what happened next: "Then one afternoon we were chatting, I was in town, and we were talking about (Scott Walker's) 'Jackie' and saying 'Imagine doing that, wouldn't it be good to do a song like that, now, at our age?'. Then when Miles came to play on the Arctic Monkeys' last album we started doing stuff together." Turner added: "So the album is a third of tunes we did completely together. Then a third of his ones which we finished off together and then a third that were mine which we finished off."
• This song of uncertain love has a Spaghetti Western feel. Turner and Kane told XFM radio station that this number is an introduction to the female protagonist who features on the album's cover and songs. They added that she's scary, but a good scary as she's enticing, inciting and exciting. She pulls you in, slaps you down but you keep coming back for more.
• The album was recorded over two weeks at the Black Box studios in Nantes, Simian Mobile Disco half James Ford was the producer and served double-duty on drums. Ford also produced Favourite Worst Nightmare for the Arctic Monkeys and the Klaxons' debut album.
• Turner told Mojo magazine April 2008 that the challenges of the album's more complicated arrangements compared to the Arctic Monkeys had its compensations. He said: "I enjoyed singing different, the harmonies were fascinating. I was having discussions with my dad about harmony. He's a music teacher. This record has really given me a desire to sing more, to practice. I feel like I hold notes for longer now."
• Kane explained their name to the Daily Record: "We got the name The Last Shadow Puppets because a friend of ours was on the phone lying on her bed and she was doing shadow puppets on the wall. We thought it would be a good name and put the 'The' on to make it dramatic."
• The Age Of The Understatement was the fifth UK #1 album for the independent Domino label in two and a half years. Domino has previously topped the chart twice with Franz Ferdinand and twice with the Arctic Monkeys.